I've been reading a great book, Ten Things I Wish Jesus Never Said, by Victor Kuligin. Though I'm not far into the book yet, he makes some great observations about fasting.
I agree with him that we have sadly lost the spiritual discipline of fasting... certainly this is true in America. Through it we learn self-discipline and self-control, which will ultimately make us more like Christ by withstanding the temptations of the flesh.
Check it out:
"'Fasting has the power to detach one's mind from the world of sense and to sharpen one's sensibility to the world of spirit.' If you can abstain from the strongest human desires, the body's need for food, then you can control yourself completely."
(Page 26)
And How about this:
"The comparison between the first Adam and second Adam is striking in this regard. The first Adam in the Garden of Eden could not resist the temptation to eat from the forbidden tree while in teh midst of numerous tress from which he could eat. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, after fasting forty days in the wilderness, was able to resist the temptation of Satan to make bread out of stones with no other food available. Jesus learned to control his physical cravings and desires, and from that discipline came the ability to resist spiritual temptation as well."
(Page 26)
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